Reportedly, the lunch was a part of BJP's Dalit outreach programme. Apart from sitting together and having food, the law minister also laid the foundation of a wooden bridge at Dalit-dominated Cheema Kothi area in Bihar. During his visit on Ambedkar Jayanti, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also honoured the Dalit leader, Dr BR Ambedkar's picture by garlanding it in Basti village.

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Newsx Bureau

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Updated

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15 April 2018,

10:05 AM

Ravi Shankar Prasad was seen having lunch with some members of the Dalit community at a 5-star Hotel in Patna

On Saturday, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was seen having lunch with some members of the Dalit community at a 5-star Hotel in Patna. The following lunch was a part of BJP’s Dalit outreach programme. Apart from sitting together and having food, the law minister also laid the foundation of a wooden bridge at Cheema Kothi area in Bihar. During his visit on Ambedkar Jayanti, Ravi Shankar Prasad also honoured the Dalit leader, Dr BR Ambedkar’s picture by garlanding it in Basti village. During the visit, the law minister was also accompanied by another BJP leader, Nand Kishore Yadav and two other party legislators.

The following visit by the BJP leaders to the Dalit dominated areas came in after BJP faced strong criticism over the SC/ST Act. After facing several protests, PM Modi along with top leadership had instructed the lawmakers of the party to connect with the people and pay heed to their problems and challenges. The party had also directed its lawmakers to make the Dalits aware of various schemes launched by the ruling government for their development. The leaders were also directed to sit and eat with them.

As per reports, during the outreach programme, Bihar BJP leader Yadav and other two legislators had community lunch with the community that was organised by BJP youth wing. Meanwhile, the Law minister went to attend an official engagement at the 5-star Hotel Maurya. Ravi Shankar Prasad also shared pictures of the event on his Twitter handle. Commenting on the absence of the Union Minister at an event where Khichdi was served, Yadav said that he had an official engagement that was much publicised, for which he was getting late. He added, “Don’t read anything more into it.”